Michael Paynter

Michael Paynter

Paynter at The Great Gatsby premiere in Sydney, Australia on 23 May 2013
Background information
Born 29 January 1986
Melbourne, Australia
Genres Pop rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Guitar, keyboard, drums, vox
Years active 2007–present
Labels Sony Music Australia
Associated acts Tanya Tucker, The Veronicas, Icehouse
Website michaelpaynter.com

Michael Paynter (born 29 January 1986), is an Australian singer-songwriter. Paynter has released five singles, "Closer", "A Victim Song", "Love the Fall", "How Sweet It Is" and "Weary Stars". Paynter competed in the second season of The Voice Australia after being dropped from his record label and successfully made the Top 16, but did not advance to the Top 12.

Early life

Paynter began playing instruments from a young age, playing the piano at the age of seven, and learning guitar and drums by the time he was 15.[1] At the age of 16, he began playing in touring bands across Australia. Regarding music, Paynter says that it "was always something I was going to do, because it fires up my soul like nothing else". He studied law for a year, but returned to music.[2] Although Paynter liked law school and intends to return, he says the choice was either "tour the country and play guitar or study books", and the decision "was a no-brainer". Paynter says that playing drums makes him a better guitarist, playing guitar makes him a better keyboardist, and playing all three makes him a better singer.[3]

Career

2007–2012: Career launch

"They have big hooks. They are inspiring and powerful yet moving. If there's a thread through my songs, it's my positive spin on life. It's a wonderful experience and you need to have fun even while you're facing up to its challenges to get the best out of it. But if I can get people to pause after each track to think about what I'm singing, then I've done my job."
— Paynter regarding the songs on his album, This Welcome Diversion.[1]

Critics have praised Michael Paynter's voice, often comparing him to John Farnham. Paynter says the title of his debut album, This Welcome Diversion, was inspired by an advertisement in an in-flight magazine; his music career is a diversion from his original path, law.[3] Paynter wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks on This Welcome Diversion.[1] To record the album, Paynter traveled to Los Angeles, where he worked with producer Matt Wallace and mixer Brian Paturalski.[4] This Welcome Diversion features performances by Josh Freese, Dorian Crozer, David Ryan Harris and John Fields.[1]

The first single, "Closer", was described as "a soaring, hook-filled track about striving for better". Paynter wrote "Closer" in collaboration with Gary Clark, and said that he fell in love with the song instantly. He said that "it works because the chords and rhythms are so simple. It's how people are, in their heads, never where they want to be whether it's a relationship or in a career. They're always wanting to be closer to the ideal." For the album, Paynter underwent a global four month writing session, during which he also worked with Wally Gagel, Phil Buckle and Julian Hamilton of The Presets.[1] The album's second single, "A Victim Song", was released on 15 November 2008 in Australia.[4]

This Welcome Diversion was initially set to be released in 2008, but despite a set release date, was delayed until 2011. After the average performance of singles "Closer" and "A Victim Song", which Paynter felt "didn't have the support of radio or a strong online presence", he and label Sony agreed to delay the album's release. Paynter began touring, serving as a supporting act for Vanessa Amorosi, Newton Faulkner, Seal and The Veronicas on their Revenge Is Sweeter tour.[5] In between tours, Sony (his label), had paid for songwriting trips to London and Los Angeles.[5] This resulted in a free 10-track acoustic album titled Money on Your Tongue, containing three cover songs and a version of "Closer", which was initially released as individual tracks across 10 weeks from late October 2009.[6][7]

In June 2010, Paynter released the single "Love the Fall", which became the most added song to Australian radio in the first week of July and his first top 20 single on the ARIA Singles Chart. The single features background vocals from The Veronicas, who also appear in the single's music video. The physical release of the single, is a five track EP, which includes the single "Are You Alive?", that was used to promote the final episode of Lost. In July, Paynter returned to Los Angeles to finish his album, with a tentative 2011 release date. Paynter said of his career, "It's been a really blessing for me. I don't think many artists get to make their debut record twice. I think if most artists got the chance to do it again, they'd take it."[5] In October 2010 Paynter supported alternative rock band The Script for their two shows in Australia.[8]

Michael also appeared on the Gypsy Heart Tour with Miley Cyrus as special guest in Australia. He debuted his new single called "How Sweet It Is" on the tour.[9] The music video was set to be released later on that month, but did not eventuate. Michael also stated on his Facebook page that he would be going on tour later in 2011. "Had an amazing meeting with my agent today about a tour coming up.. Not going to say too much just yet, but there may ALSO be a whole bunch of u18's shows on the cards... PARTY!"

In late September 2011, announcements on Facebook advised that Michael was joining the Icehouse line-up for a tour supporting the band's release of the greatest hits album White Heat: 30 Hits.[10][11] Sometime in 2011, Paynter was dropped by Sony, effectively cancelling the release of This Welcome Diversion.[12]

2013–present: Weary Stars and The Voice Australia

In April 2013, Paynter auditioned for Season 2 of The Voice Australia and after successfully having all four judges turn their chairs, he chose Joel Madden as his coach. He successfully defeated Louise Roussety in the Battle Rounds with his rendition of "As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber. He was saved by the public in part 2 of The Showdowns (for his performance of "The Horses" by Daryl Braithwaite), but failed to receive enough votes in the first Live Finals episode after performing "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars, and was eliminated.

Performed Song Original artist Result
Blind Audition "Somewhere Only We Know" Keane Joined Team Joel
Battle Rounds "As Long As You Love Me" (against Louise Roussety) Justin Bieber Winner
Showdowns "The Horses" Daryl Braithwaite Public vote
Live Show Final, Part 1 "Locked Out of Heaven" Bruno Mars Eliminated

On 13 January 2014, Paynter released a new single, "Weary Stars".[13] "Weary Stars" is the first single from Paynter's debut studio album of the same name. The album was released to iTunes on 31 January 2014.[14]

In 2014-15 Paynter played keyboards and guitar on the Icehouse Australian tour. Besides backing vocals, he also sang "Man of Colours" at the live shows.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[15]
Money on Your Tongue —
Weary Stars
  • Released: 31 January 2014[14]
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 78

Singles

Year Single Chart peak
AUS
[17][18]		 Certifications Album
2008 "Closer" 61 Single only
"A Victim Song" 188
2010 "Love the Fall" 19 Weary Stars
2011 "How Sweet It Is" —
2014 "Weary Stars" —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Promotional singles

Year Single Chart peak
AUS
[17][20]
2013 "Somewhere Only We Know" —
"As Long as You Love Me" —
"The Horses" 34
"Locked Out of Heaven" 80
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Michael Paynter". CNET Networks. MP3.com. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  2. ↑ "MTV Gives U the Word - ARIA Chart Show". MTV Australia. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Te Koha, Nui (29 June 2008). "Big voice and high ambition". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Paynter, Michael/"A Victim Song"". Sanity. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Treuen, Jason (14 July 2010). "The Curious Case Of Michael Paynter". The Music Network. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Money On Your Tongue Album Giveaway". Michael Paynter on Facebook. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Fichera, Jessica (21 December 2009). "Michael Paynter, Musician". Onya Magazine. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Script Announce Australian Tour!". Take 40 Australia. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1slXmKWHpAI
  10. ↑ Michael Paynter Music, "Michael Paynter to tour with Icehouse!", 22 Sep 2011, retrieved 30 Sep 2011
  11. ↑ Iva Davies/Icehouse - Spellbound, "The Today Show introduced the line up for Icehouse...", 24 Sep 2011, retrieved 30 Sep 2011
  12. ↑ "Michael Paynter". ninemsn. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Weary Stars - Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Weary Stars (Digital Version)". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 10 February 2014" (PDF) (1250). Pandora Archive. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  16. ↑ "News for Michael Paynter – Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and pictures at Last.fm". Michael Paynter on last.fm. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "australian-charts.com - Discography Michael Paynter". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 7 July 2008" (PDF) (958). Pandora Archive. 20 July 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2011 Singles". ARIA. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 27 May 2013" (PDF) (1213). Pandora Archive. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.

External links